In a speech broadcast as the governing Communist Party works to reverse a worsening economic slowdown, China’s leader Xi Jinping urged for patience, saying Western countries are “increasingly in trouble” due to materialism and “spiritual poverty.”
Xi’s address was published by Qiushi, the party’s top theoretical journal, just hours after data released Tuesday revealed both consumer and manufacturing activity fell further in July, despite government promises to help struggling businesses. The government avoided providing an update on a politically sensitive increase in youth unemployment.
Xi, China’s most powerful leader in decades, urged the country to “build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion” and to prioritise long-term goals such as upgrading education, health care, and food supplies for the country’s 1.4 billion people over short-term financial gain.
Since gaining power in 2012, Xi has called for the restoration of the ruling party’s role as an economic and social leader, and he has tightened control over business and society. Some improvements come at an increasing cost, since successful Chinese firms are under pressure to redirect funds to political programmes such as processor chip development. The party reinforced its grip on the technology industry by conducting data security and anti-monopoly crackdowns that cost billions of dollars in stock market value.
“We must maintain historic patience and insist on making steady, step-by-step progress,” stated Xi in his speech. Qiushi stated that it was delivered in the southwestern city of Chongqing in February. Speeches are frequently published in Qiushi periodical months after they are delivered.
Economic growth slowed to 0.8% in the three months ended in June, compared to 2.2% in the previous month. This equates to an annual rate of 3.2%, which would be among China’s worst in decades.
According to a June poll, unemployment among urban workers aged 16 to 24 reached a new high of 21.3%. This Thursday, the statistics office announced that it would suspend updates while it updated its measurement.
The government is attempting to calm worried homebuyers and investors about China’s severely indebted real estate market after one of the country’s largest developers, Country Garden, failed to make a bond payment and froze trading in its bonds. According to a government spokesperson, regulators are bringing debt under control, and risks are “expected to be gradually resolved.”
Beijing has also increased anti-spying measures and tightened information controls, leaving foreign and private enterprises unsure about what operations are permissible.
Xi emphasised “common prosperity,” a party phrase from the 1950s that he has revived. He called for closing China’s massive wealth disparity between a tiny elite and the poor majority, as well as “regulate the healthy development of capital,” but made no fresh announcements.
“Common prosperity for all people” is a “essential feature of Chinese-style modernization and distinguishes it from Western modernization,” according to Xi.
Western-style modernization “pursues the maximisation of capital interests instead of serving the vast majority of people,” according to Xi.
“Today, Western countries are increasingly in trouble,” stated Xi. “They can’t stop capital’s greed and can’t cure chronic diseases like materialism and spiritual poverty.”
